a private sale of original paper brass rubbings of monumental brasses from English churches

A private sale of English church brass rubbings

This website is selling a small, private collection of paper brass rubbings that have been hand-made from monumental brasses in various English churches. Two rubbings were made in Westminster Abbey.

Brass rubbings are unique, hand-made works of art

Each rubbing is unique and was made by hand using gold wax crayons on black paper. This was done in the early to mid-1970s, before churches, cathedrals and abbeys closed their doors to amateur brass rubbers. These are not facsimiles, nor are they manufactured copies. They are the result of laying a sheet of paper on a brass plaque and manually tracing over the plaque's engraving. It required considerable skill and took a lot of time.

There is just one copy of each brass rubbing - except for the two that were made from the same brass in Westminster Abbey. When this small collection is sold, the website will be taken down.

They are derived from monumental brasses in English churches

This collection of brass rubbings has been accumulated by visits to various churches in the south-east of England - and London's Westminster Abbey. It includes some outstanding examples of medieval monumental brasses alongside some more ordinary memorials. Knights and their ladies feature alongside priests and merchants. You will find examples of the classic iconography of heraldry alongside simpler, though no less inspiring, designs. There are rubbings of early brasses from the 14th century and there are others from the Tudor period.

Buy a brass rubbing to display on your own walls

Unlike many paper rubbings that find their way to auction which are made with black crayon on white paper, all the rubbings for sale here are of gold crayon on black paper. Each rubbing has been professionally photographed for high resolution display on this website, so you will be able to get a clear idea of their quality before you make a purchase. When framed and put behind glass (which is not included here), these will make for a quite astonishing display.

Some of the rubbings are over two metres in height and will be able to impose themselves on large spaces, others are of a more modest size. Each rubbing will be shipped (by Royal Mail) rolled up in a sturdy cardboard tube, with a delivery that requires your signature. A money-back system of returns is in place to reassure you either way. What you will be buying is something that has had a tangible connection with the past.